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Lausk
In ancient Atmoran and Nordic myth, Lausk is a deity associated with the winter season. Also known under various titles, such as the Winter King and Frostbringer, he is attributed with introducing cold to Nirn. Lausk's birth is said to have brought the four seasons into existence, as before that, Nirn had existed in a state of perpetual summer. Lausk is usually characterised as a dread-inspiring spectre that takes on the form of a masked warrior, who silently marches further south with each passing winter, his frozen domain encroaching further south every year. History Lausk is said to have come to Nirn during the late Dawn Era, shortly after the Magna Ge abandoned Mundus. When Magnus tore a hole in the fabric of reality to enter Aetherius, Lausk fell through and landed on Nirn, exactly on its north pole. Accustomed as he was to the warmth and glow of Aetherius, during his fall through the Void he grew cold, so cold that upon his landing he had become a spectre of pure cold, the origin of all frost in Mundus. When he awoke, he found that his mere presence had frozen the north pole, turning it into an icy wasteland. Wishing to escape the cold, he began to march south, only to find that wherever he walked, frost and ice preceded him. After wandering for a while, Lausk began to become lonely, so he created two companions out of a pair of frozen leopards; these icy beasts, Halla and Kylma, are said to be the ancestors of snow leopards. Lausk's presence on the north pole and encroaching march did not go unnoticed for the rest of Mundus; while previously, all of Nirn had a tropical climate, the northern regions began to cool down, turning Altmora, the northernmost continent (south of the pole) into a temperate realm, while even so far south as Aldmeris the began to lower slightly. When the remaining Aedra discovered Lausk, they feared that all of Mundus would become frozen if he were allowed to keep wandering. Thus, they built a construct on the north pole that was to imprison Lausk, a throne that he would be bound to for eternity. However, to the Aedra's dismay, defeating Shor and ripping his heart out proved to have been so taxing on them that they could not fully bind Lausk to his throne; though it worked at first, in time Lausk's touch began to affect the throne, slowly but surely freezing it over and interfering with the magic that bound Lausk to his throne. Eventually, Lausk partially broke free from his bond to the throne, allowing him to roam freely again. However, his spirit was forever bound to the Winter Throne, and sooner or later he always had to return, to be imprisoned on his throne until he was released again. Thus began a cycle, one that would become known as the four seasons; during the summer months, Lausk would be on his throne up north, but once he began marching north, it would become autumn and then winter, the temperature getting lower the closer Lausk encroached - until he found himself drawn back to the Winter Throne and began to return north, upon which it would become spring. Wishing revenge upon those who bound him to the Winter Throne, Lausk changed from a desperate soul trying to flee the cold into a vengeful revenant, and began to set course for the place where the Aedra decided his - and Shor's - fate, Direnni Tower, so that he might break his bond and walk freely once more. To this end, he began to spend the months he was chained to the Throne concentrating all his power to a singular purpose: physically moving the Throne. Each year, during summer, the Winter Throne shifted southward, driven forward by enormous quantities of jutting ice. It moves barely - hardly inches each year - but it moves relentlessly, drawing closer to Direnni Tower every summer. By the First Era, Lausk reached the continent of Atmora; his presence is the reason it turned into a frozen wasteland. The Winter Throne is supposedly located on Atmora now, the continent having been annexed into Lausk's 'kingdom'. Belief holds that one day, Lausk will reach Direnni Tower, free himself from the Winter Throne, and wander all across Nirn, freezing it in its entirety and thus ending all life. This fate is deemed inevitable, and by the Atmorans this event was considered the End Time, and remained the most commonly accepted apocalypse myth until the Nords came into contact with the Dovah and began to worship Alduin as the World Eater. Since then, Lausk's story slowly faded from memory; he is not considered a part of the Nordic pantheon, and what little memory is left of him manifests as bedtime stories, where he is mentioned as a cautionary tale for children: the Frostbringer with his two leopards, who will come for you if you leave the house without a coat in winter.Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Gods